last night

i picked up Jean Wilson from UPR (United Peace Relief) and Aaron Timlin from the CAID and headed to ann arbor to find the homeless tent city Camp Take Notice
that Catherine Jun from the Detroit News wrote about.

I even had to call her for specifics on their location and she
gave rather good ones. she told me there are about 7 tents.

on the Exit ramp I saw a guy at the end of the exit ramp...tons of cars..i honked and
hoped out and he followed me to my trunk and i gave him a back pack
and asked him where the camp was he told me where across the 3 lanes
of traffic and down the hill into the woods. i asked if he lived there
he tole me no but he told me someone is usually there.he told me to
park on the side street..i told him i was heading to apple bees, jun
suggested that and told me to be careful crossing the road..so nice

i asked him his name he told me Chuck i told him mine and thanked him.

we parked and heading up the embankment, poor Aaron did not have on
winter boots, jean and i are all decked out in winter clothes and
boots.

i went to the trunk but we decided to not take back packs but come
back if needed for them

we see a path in the snow and follow it.and cross the road through
traffic..to the other side where there is another path in the snow.i
decide to run to chuck after i waved at him and him back.i tell them i
will catch up.

chuck and i chat ..i ask if he is not living there where is he
living..he told me he got off the streets,in a room...took him years
he said to get through the system but it finally happened..i asked if
it was that difficult he told me unbelievable.

i gave him my extra pair of gloves and headed toward the path down the
other side of the exit ramp cuz Aaron was signaling me to come.

i caught up and we followed a well defined path in the snow into the
woods to a clearing where there was a nicely painted sign for Camp
Take Notice
and words underneath that Aaron pointed out the first letter of all of
them spelled out 'mission'..nice. i have a picture of it.

jean is ahead of us and at first i notice the kitchen area, yes they
have one..and tents laid out all around it ...about 8 then 3 farther
back into the woods too. it all very extreme camping.

i call around and follow the paths to see if anyone is around, no answer.

i ask if they mind going back and getting the backpacks to leave here
and Aaron suggests a note too. jean is taking video and images of the
area..we slowly head back. i take 2 more pix..something i do not
normally do btw.

we load up and i have 14 packs so we trek them back and leave them
with the note in the kitchen area. i tell them who we are and why we
stopped and about the event coming up in Detroit in june ot create a
homeless squat community in Detroit and that we would like to help
them as we know they have 30 days to move, less actually, and that we
would like to have them at the event..or even to move to Detroit but
to come to the event regardless, yes i would figure out travel. i left
my number.

we headed back and went out to eat at the cass to talk about how to
help and brainstorm and make things happen in detroit!

!!


well last night i got a text from them: "Camp Take Notice just got back en masse and discovered your gifts! amazing! Thankyou"

i wrote back telling them i hoped they were useful


the wrote back again today from Camp Take Notice; one young man said. this restored his faith in humanity.& they acknowledge the work put into the packs!! GO TEAM!! for helping back so many awesome back packs!

i wrote them the i have more supplies if that was not enough and told them i can beg for more stuff if they tell me what they need. ...i cried at their text!

so happy that a connection was made....

well just now i googled the words on the sign i took a picture of;





Michigan Itinerant Shelter System Interdependent Out of Necessity and found a blog by them which is not too up to date..but i do plan to follow!

http://missiona2.blogspot.com/


i do NOT normally take pix of my project...but i did last night...
here is a communal kitchen where we left the back packs



and the article said they had 30 days to move....so considering you can NOT see them from the road...my guess is someone from the shopping center where you could tracks in the snow showing people went to the parking lot that way ..called and complained...my guess

hoping to stay in contact with them






i just found a video on them from faux news;